Latch needle opener



Feb. 17, 1948. s. A. WYTOVICH LATCH NEEDLE OPENER Filed Feb. 12, 1947in. d

INVENTOR STANLEY A. Wrrowcfl 3 BY W A MM ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1948LATCH NEEDLE OPENER Stanley A. Wytovich, Allentown,

Blossom Products Corporation, Allentown,

Pa., assignor to Pa.,

a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 12, 1947, Serial No.728,002

6 Claims.

This invention relates to knitting machines,

more particularly to latch openers of needles used in various types ofconventional knitting machines.

Wherever latch needles are employed, the

opening of the latch is effected by the yarn under the hook when theneedle is being moved from its cast-ofi position towards its knittingposition,

the movement of the needle (under the influence of cams or other needleactuating devices) beyond the level of the yarn causing the yarn toslidably engage the latch and thereby open it. It frequently happens,however, that the pivotal connection of the latch formed by the pintleconnecting the latch to the head or hook portion of the needle becomescluttered or obstructed with lint, thereby preventing a free movement ofthe latch; or the pivotal connection is stiff or tight because of slightdefects in its construction or for other reasons. This conditionfrequently arises after the machine is lubricated, and is a commonoccurrence when the yarn is made of cotton. Under normal operatingconditions, it is often not easy to immediately detect the presence ofa' closed latch after cast-off position, and it frequently happens thata machine will produce yards of fabric before the condition isdiscovered.

.The resulting fabric, as is well known in the art, contains runs andridges; and at times the yarn ,will break under the resultant stress,producing holes in the knitted cloth. It is accordingly primarily withinthe contemplation of this invention to prevent such undesirableconditions in the pro- .duction of knitting fabric by providing apositive means, separate and apart from the yarn itself, for opening thelatch after cast-off position.

It is an important object of my invention to enable the aforesaidobjective to be attained by direct-acting and positive means readilyadapted .for attachment to conventional machines, and of such a.construction whereby the delicate latch mechanism will not be injured.And in this aspect of my invention, it is a further object to employ abrush type of latch opener with flexible andyieldable bristles whichwill directly engage the latch without otherwise affecting the operationof the machine and without injury to the yarn. And in this connection itis a further object of my invention to employ a flat type of brushengageable with a needle and associated parts of the machine at arelatively small and limited area thereof, and capable of being broughtinto engagement at a specific predetermined portion of the machine.

Another important object of this invention is to enable the latchopening operation to be cf- ."wheel being driven by another. And in thisconnection it is a further object to provide the brush with a simple andeffective free-wheeling mount- It is still another object of thisinvention to provide the brush element with an adjustable universalsupport, whereby the position of the brush with respect to the cylinderand needles can be varied to suit the conditions.

Another object of this device is to provide novel clamping means for thebristles, to hold them against spreading and thereby maintain themclosely bunched together for best operative efiects, and also prolongingthe life of the brush. It is also an object of this invention to employa conventional type of flat rotary brush, and to provide thereforremovable mounting means for ready replacement.

A still further object of this invention is to enable the brush elementto clean the hook and pivotal portions of the needle from accumulationsof lint or other foreign matter.

And it is within the contemplation of this invention to enable theforegoing objects to be at vtainecl by a simple, inexpensive and readilyassembled device.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings andthe description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective of a portion of arevolving-cylinder knitting machine showing a few needles in place andthe latch opener in operative position according to my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective of the latch opener andcoacting needles, showing an elevating cam raising the needles fromcast-off position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of a latch needle in its closed andopen positions;

Figure 4 is an elevational view of the latch opener and supportingstructure therefor, looking radially outwardly from the cylinder;

Figure 5 is a top view of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a section of Figure 4 taken along line 66.

In the particular form of knitting machine used I to illustrate thisinvention, the cylinder l0, rotatable in the direction of the arrow,contains a plurality of vertical slots II for slidably accommodating thelatch needles l2. These needles are movable into various positions byelevating and depressing cams or other devices well known in the art.Figure 2 shows a raising cam I3 engageable with the butts of the needlefor raising the needles from the cast-off position of needle M toelevated positions as indicated by needles ii. The mechanism thus fardescribed is of conventional structure.

The preferred latch opening device consists of a flat round brush memberHi mounted so that'the plane of the brush will be inclined with respectto the needles, and positioned in engagement with the cylinder and thevertical slots H thereof. The arrangement is such that upon an operativerotation of the cylinder in the direction of the arrow, the brush willbe caused to rotate clockwise (Figures 1 and 2) in the direction of thearrow substantially in the manner of spiral gearing, all as will be morefully hereinafter described.

The brush member iii, in the preferred structure illustrated, comprisesa plurality of radially disposed closely packed flexible bristles H, indisc-like formation, the bristles being held in position by the centralflanged member 18 fixedly mounted upon shaft l9. Integral with the shaftI9 is the outer disc-like clamp 20 which contains a peripheral flange 2iengaging the brush at a predetermined point between member is and theperiphery of the brush. Mounted over shaft [9, on the opposite side ofthe brush, is the clamp 22, containing the peripheral flange 23 engagingthe brush coactively with flange 2!. The nut 24, mounted over threadedportion 25 of the shaft, engagesthe outer surface of clamp 22, toeffectuate a tight clamping of the brush by the said clamps 2i) and 22.The shaft i9 is rotatably positioned within sleeve 26 which is mountedwithin member 27 and held therein against rotation by the set screw 28.The outer reduced terminal 29 of the shaft i 9 is threaded, and containsthereover the knurled nut 30. The arrangement is accordingly such thatshaft l8, together with the brush member I? and nut 38 are freelyrevolvable within the supporting structure above described.

The entire brush assembly above described is mounted for universaladjusting. The slotted set screw 3i which engages the'rod 32 permitssaid rod to be moved radially towards and away from the cylinder, andalso rotatably, thereby enabling not only the position of the brushradially with respect to the cylinder to be varied, but also enablingits angle with respect to the cylinder to be adjustably changed. The setscrew 34 which engages rod 35 enables a horizontal adjustment to beeffectuated; and the set screw 36 within bracket 31 enables the verticalrod 39 to be adjusted, thereby permitting a corresponding verticaladiustment of the brush.

The brush construction above described is such as to maintain thebristles in closelypacked'formation, inasmuch as the flanges 2| and 23of clamps 28 and 22 are positioned sufiiciently close to the peripheryof the brush to hold the bristles against spreading, and yet leavingsufficient length of the bristles for operative eflicacy. If aftercontinuous use it is desired to replace the brush, all that need be doneis to disassemble the brush assembly by unscrewingnuts 3D and 24, andsubstituting a new brush.

\ In the operation of this device, the rotating iti-on of the brush i1is also inasmuch as the slots H receive the bristles, so

cylinder Ill engages the bristles of brush is to cause a rotationthereof as aforesaid, inasmuch as the brush assembly is freely mountedwithin the sleeve 26. The brush is so positioned that the portionthereof contacting the cylinder is disposed after the cast-off position(where needle Hi is located, Figure 2). At-this point the bristles aremoving both outwardly and downwardly, due to the inclination of thebrush, whereas the needles are moving upwardly under the influence of anelevating member such as cam l3. The opposite movements of bristles andneedles will enable those bristles which have entered the space Allbetween'the closed latch ll and hook 42 (Figure 3) to engage the innerwall 43 of the latch and pivotly move it downwardly and outwardly intoan open position. The bristles which effect the opening of a latchslidably move outwardly against the open latch until they are out ofengagement with the cylinder and needles, to

repeat their latch opening action when they again rotatably reach thecylinder.

In this manner the bristles continuously engage successive needles,opening the latches in the manner above described.

It will be observed that the action must of necessity be positive,particularly since the brush is so set that the bristles will embedthemselves partially within the slots II when they engage the cylinderas illustrated. Since thebristles are flexible, they will yield undercontactingpressure, and will accordingly cause no damage to the delicatelatch construction. At the same time, the moving bristles will removeany accumulated lint or other foreign material.

It will be further noted that the rotating acpositive in nature,

that the walls of the slots positively engage the bristles to produce arotary motion of the wheel.

From the above description it will also be obiserved that theconstruction is such as to enable the device to be attached to aconventional machine without in any way affecting its operation.Although in the structure illustrated the preferred method is describedas including a free wheeling brush, particularly where a revolvingcylinder is employed, it is to be understood that my invention is notlimited to such a specific arrangement. Special conditions might justifythe use .of specialdriving means for the brush 'member, an arrangementwhich will produce the jother advantages hereinabove described.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by wayof example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations andmodifications may be made therein which will still be comprised withinits spirit. his to :be understood, therefore, that the invention is notlimited to any specific form or manner of practicing same, except in sofar as such limita .tions are specified in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. In a knitting machine of the type having a cylinder memberwith needle slots and latch needles slidably movable therein, a latchopener comprising a brush member rotatably mounted adjacent the cylindermember at a predetermined region of the machine, the bristles of thebrush being in pressing engagement with the cylinder and the slots,whereby upon an operative rotation of the cylinder the brush will berotated, the bristles of the brush being positioned for engagement withthe inner wall of the closed latch of an adjacent needle at the saidregion, whereby upon an operative rotation of the brush the bristlesthereof will cause the latch to be opened.

2. In a knitting machine of the type having a revolving cylinder withneedle slots and latch needles slidably movable therein, a latch openercomprising a flat brush rotatably mounted adjacent the cylinder, theplane of the brush being inclined with respect to the needles, thebristles of the brush being in pressing engagement with the cylinder andthe slots, whereby upon an operative rotation of the cylinder the brushwill be rotated, the bristles of the brush being positioned forengagement with the inner wall of the closed latch of an adjacentneedle, whereby upon an operative rotation of the brush the bristlesthereof in engagement with the inner wall of the said latch will moveoutwardly and downwardly to cause the latch to be opened.

3. A latch opener according to claim 1, further provided with adjustingmeans for varying the position of the brush member relative to thecylinder member.

4. In a latch opener of the class described, a flat disc-like brushmember containing a plurality of radial bristles supported in the regionof the members axis, and two discs on opposite sides of the brush memberand containing oppositely disposed, inwardly extending peripheral 6flanges engaging the bristles intermediate their ends.

n a l h pener or the class described, the combination according to claim4, one of said discs being detachably connected to the brush member.

6. In a latch opener of the class described, a flat disc-like brushmember containing a plurality of radial bristles supported in the regionof the member's axis, two discs on opposite sides of the brush memberand containing oppositely disposed, inwardly extending peripheralflanges engaging the bristles intermediate their ends, a shaft fixedlyassociated with the brush member and the outer of said discs, the innerof said discs being slidably removable from the shaft, and means forholding said discs in pressing engagement with the bristles.

STANLEY A. WYTOVICH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,303,823 Scott May 13, 19191,475,074 McLaughlin Nov. 20, 1943

